Nov 26, 2017 —FRANCE (SUN) —
In the last years of Bhagavan's reign, Tray das, a "Prabhupada's disciple" was sent in France to be the national sankirtana leader. This very offensive and simple-minded devotee became immediately very critical about many French devotees who were only trying to apply what they read in Srila Prabhupada's books. According to this sankirtana leader, the ultimate topmost understanding of Krsna Consciousness was only to fully blindly serve the acarya's mission. Therefore, at this time, Bhagavan's mission. "How much time will be necessary for French devotees to understand that???!!! " was his favorite public outraged exclamation. He seemed to sincerely believe what he was saying.
He appeared, of course, a little less intelligent the day when Bhagavan left... And many devotees, who had been fully engaged in his mission not only left ISKCON, but also completely gave up their spiritual practices and understanding. I wonder what this person thinks today? Is now the "topmost understanding of Krsna Consciousness" to enthusiastically and blindly fully follow and serve the GBC in all its deviations? The worst of it being, of course, to literally re-write Srila Prabhupada's books. Or is it better now, in Tray das's opinion, to at least, temper all that by trying to directly understand Krsna Consciousness through Srila Prabhupada's genuine literature? An endeavour which the GBC and the BBTI, more and more, try to avoid, for everyone, by suppressing even the possibility for others to print and distribute those genuine books.
That drives us to the following question: is a movement like ISKCON supposed to serve the individuals (people and devotees) or are those individuals supposed to serve ISKCON? The true answer to this question is very easy to find if we simply consider our exact philosophy:
Who, in our philosophy, is supposed to reach visuddha-sattva and the Spiritual World? Who is supposed to establish (or reestablish) his relation with Krsna? Who is suffering because of his (her) material conditioning? Who makes the necessary efforts for all those achievements? Who, moreover, makes the efforts to give this philosophy to others? Who is a sensitive living entity able to have bliss or to suffer -- the individual or the institution? The individuals or buildings? The individuals or organizational charts? The answer to those questions is obvious.
Therefore, I remember reading Srila Prabhupada saying that even his temples could eventually disappear provided the most important thing, his books, will remain. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja said more or less the same through his: "I would be ready to sell the marble of the temples in order to print books." To print books was also the most important instruction which Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja gave to Srila Prabhupada. So, we see clearly what was the hierarchy, in terms of spiritual value, for those acaryas.
Nevertheless, very strangely, like by accident, the main deadly attacks which are conducted by ISKCON today are, precisely, against the original and genuine Prabhupada books. Under the fake pretexts of corrections or going "closer and closer to Prabhupada's thinking". Well, in fact, it is simply disinformation for naïve people. We can easily see that those changes serve mainly ISKCON GBC's politics. In other words, are often adaptations of the philosophy to fit the present GBC's goals and ideas.
So, we can see very clearly, from that, that the institution is put, by the GBC, above the individuals. To the point of preventing persons from having access any more to the original Prabhupada books. Just see how the BBTI attacks the outside devotees who try to maintain the edition and distribution of those genuine books. The reading and understanding of which could disturb ISKCON's plans. Things are clear!
When persons put an institution above the individuals, they give themselves the clear and obvious proof that they are much more interested in power and money than in Krsna Consciousness. More or less, the same methods than in past times are used in order to reach those material purposes. They have to break any opposition. At Bhagavan's time, the day I rejected the bogus and perverted authority of many leaders, I curiously started to do big in sankirtana, on a regular basis! But at the same time, immediately some leaders started to systematically and very carefully hide my results from other devotees. Some did not even know that I was doing sankirtana! However, I was not keeping one cent for me. And that lasted years! So, where was the spiritual logic in that? The same kind of methods are used today by the GBC on a bigger scale. Anything which is not in line with what they want is immediately carefully hidden or subjected to disinformation, omerta, lies, falsity, propaganda.
Where is truthfulness in all that? How, without this basic brahminical quality, can we hope to expand Krsna Consciousness? Intelligent and sane persons will very quickly see what's going on and will take distance from ISKCON. But maybe the GBC's goal is now to attract only crooks, manipulators, business men and cheaters? And to make of ISKCON an institution whose purpose will be only POWER? Through the pretext and the tools of Krsna Consciousness.
Anyway, the truth is that an institution can never be given priority over persons, simply for the other good reason that an institution without persons is absolutely nothing. On contrary, a person free from an institution can function quite nicely. Thousands of devotees who live outside today are the perfect examples of this truth.
It is therefore up to everyone to choose for himself if he is fool enough to prefer some very temporary material power to Krsna, or to intelligently prefer the contrary.
